Quercetin loaded silver nanoparticles in hydrogel matrices for diabetic wound healing

Quercetin (QCT) is an effective antioxidant, antifibrotic and wound healing agent. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are an effective antimicrobial and wound healing agent and considered as gold standard for wound treatment especially diabetic and burn wounds. The present study aimed to investigate QCT loaded AgNPs in hydrogel matrices (QCT-AgNPs hydrogel) as synergistic treatment paradigms for diabetic wound.

Quality by Design (QbD) approach was employed for the optimization of hydrogel preparation using carbopol-934 and aloe-vera. The developed QCT-AgNPs hydrogel was characterized for particle size, %entrapment efficiency (%EE), surface morphology, texture analysis, in-vitro drug release, skin irritation study, ex-vivo permeation study (confocal study), and antimicrobial efficacy. The optimized formulation showed particle size of ~44.1nm with smooth spherical surface morphology and ~92.09% of QCT was entrapped in QCT-AgNPs hydrogel matrices.

The antimicrobial study revealed superior therapeutic efficacy of QCT-AgNPs hydrogel in comparison to marketed (MRKT) gel on S. aureus and E. coli. Moreover, in-vivo results demonstrated QCT-AgNPs hydrogel significantly (p<0.001) reduced the wound and increased % re-epithelization compared with diabetic control after 18 days of treatment in excision diabetic wound model. In conclusion, this study opened an avenue for the treatment of diabetic wound.

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Article information: Reena Bhadhwar, Bharti Mangla, Yub Raj Neupane, Kushagra Khanna and Harvinder Popli. Nanotechnology, 2021. IOPScience